Palmer, A(lexander) Mitchell (b. May 4, 1872, Moosehead, Pa., U.S.—d. May 11, 1936, Washington, D.C.) U.S. politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1909 to 1915 and helped secure the Democratic Party presidential nomination for Woodrow Wilson in 1912. Appointed U.S. attorney general (1919-21), Palmer used the espio¬ nage and sedition acts (1917, 1918) to attack political radicals, dissidents, and aliens in the “Red Scare” period following World War I. The government-led roundup of suspected communists became known as the “Palmer raids.” In 1920 he ran unsuccessfully for the presidential nomi¬ nation of the Democratic Party.
Palmer, Arnold (Daniel) (b. Sept. 10, 1929, Latrobe, Pa., U.S.) U.S. golfer. The son of a greenskeeper,
Palmer turned professional in 1954 after winning the U.S. Amateur championship. He was the first player to win the Masters Tournament four times (1958, 1960, 1962, 1964); his other major titles include the U.S.
Open (1960) and the British Open (1961-62). From 1954 through 1975 he won 61 tournaments. He won the PGA Senior Open in 1980 and 1981.
He was the first golfer to earn $1,000,000 in tournament prize money. His exciting play and ami¬ able personality won him wide popu¬ larity among fans, who became known as “Amie’s Army.” Palmer was also the first athlete to parlay success on the playing field into lucrative off-the-field contracts, and thus he paved the way for athletes who followed to earn substantial sums from endorsement contracts.
Palmer, Samuel (b. Jan. 27,
1805, London, Eng.—d. May 24,
1881, Redhill, Surrey) British painter and etcher. He began exhibiting conventional landscapes at the Royal Academy by 14. After converting to a personal form of High Angli¬ canism and discovering medieval art, he developed a visionary style, dis¬ playing a mystical but precise depiction of nature and an overflowing
religious intensity, united by a vivid re-creation of the pastoral conven¬ tions. In these works he was encouraged and influenced by William Blake. As his religious fervour faded after 1830, the precarious balance between realism and vision was lost.
Palmerston (of Palmerston), Henry John Temple, 3rd Vis¬ count known as Lord Palmerston (b. Oct. 20, 1784, Broadlands, Hampshire, Eng.—d. Oct. 18, 1865, Brocket Hall, Hertfordshire) English politician and prime minister (1855-58, 1859-65). He entered Parliament in 1807 as a Tory and served as secretary at war (1809-28). Associated with the Whig Party from 1830, he served many years as foreign secre¬ tary (1830-34, 1835^11, 1846-51) and supported British interests and liberal causes abroad. He played a key role in establishing the indepen¬ dence of Belgium (1830-31) and Greece (1832) and secured Turkey’s integrity against France (1840). Appointed prime minister in 1855, he brought an end to the Crimean War, approved the creation of the inde¬ pendent Kingdom of Italy, and supported a policy of neutrality in the American Civil War. Nicknamed “Pam,” he was a symbol of British nationalism and one of Britain’s most popular leaders.
palmetto \pal-'me-to\ or cabbage palmetto Tree ( Sabalpalmetto) of the palm family, occurring in the southeastern U.S. and the West Indies. Commonly grown for shade and as ornamentals along avenues, palmet¬ tos grow to about 80 ft (24 m) tall and have fan-shaped leaves. The water- resistant trunk is used as wharf piling. Mats and baskets are sometimes made from the leaves, and stiff brushes are made from the stems. The buds are edible. S. texana, a similar species, occurs in the southwestern U.S. and in Mexico.
palmistry Reading of an individual’s character and divination of the future by interpreting lines on the palm of the hand. Palmistry may have originated in ancient India, and it was probably from their original Indian home that the traditional fortune-telling of the Gypsies was derived. It was also practiced in China, Tibet, Persia, Mesopotamia, Egypt, and ancient Greece. In medieval Europe it was used to discover witches, who were thought to have pigmentation spots as signs of a pact with the devil. Though palmistry is still practiced, there is no known scientific basis for it.
Palmyra \pal-'ml-r3\ biblical Tadmor Ancient city, Syria, northeast of Damascus, at the modem city of Tadmur. Said to have been built by King Solomon, it became prominent in the 3rd century bc, when the Seleu- cid dynasty made the road through Palmyra one of the routes of east- west trade. Under Roman control by the reign of Tiberius, it briefly regained autonomy in the 3rd cen¬ tury ad under the Arab queen Zeno- bia. The main military station on the road that linked Damascus to the Euphrates River, it was conquered by the Muslims in 634. Inscriptions in the Aramaic language supply information on the city’s trade with India via the Persian Gulf and with Egypt, Rome, and Syria. Ancient ruins reveal the city’s plan.
Palomar Observatory Astronomical observatory on Mount Palo- mar, near San Diego, California, U.S., site of the famous Hale telescope, a reflecting telescope with a 200-in. (5-m) aperture that has proved instru¬ mental in cosmological research. Built in 1948 and named in honour of George Ellery Hale (1868-1938), it was the largest instrument of its kind for almost 30 years. Founded in 1948 by California Institute of Technol¬ ogy, the observatory was operated jointly with the Mount Wilson Obser¬ vatory as the Hale Observatories until 1980.
Palomino \,pa-b-'me-no\ Colour type of horse distinguished by its cream, yellow, or gold coat and a white or silver mane. It is popular in pleasure and parade classes. Palominos may conform to the breed types of several light breeds, including the Arabian horse and the American Quarter Horse.
palsy See cerebral palsy, paralysis
Pamirs \p3-'mirz\ High mountain region, Central Asia. Located mostly in Tajikistan, it also borders parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, and Kyrgyzstan. It includes many peaks that are higher than 20,000 ft (6,100
Temple of Bel, Palmyra, Syria.
H. ROGER-VIOLLET
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Pamlico Sound ► Pan-p'o I 1439
m) in elevation, as well as many glaciers. Its highest point, Imeni Ismail Samani (Communism) Peak, rises in the northwestern part of the range to an elevation of 24,590 ft (7,495 m). The region is sparsely populated, and almost all the inhabitants are Tajiks. It is a central mountain knot from which extend several great ranges, including the Karakorams and Hindu Kush.
Pamlico Vpam-li-.koV Sound Shallow body of water, eastern shore of North Carolina, U.S. It is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks. It extends 80 mi (130 km) south from Roanoke Island and is 8-30 mi (13-48 km) wide. Numerous waterfowl nest along the coastal waters; there is some commercial fishing, especially for oysters.
Pampas, the Vast, grass-covered plain in South America extending west from the Atlantic coast to the Andean foothills, primarily in Argen¬ tina. The Argentine Pampas covers 295,000 sq mi (764,000 sq km) and slopes gradually downward from northwest to southeast. The western portion is dry and largely barren; the humid eastern portion is the nation’s economic heart. Herds of wild cattle and horses, introduced by the Span¬ iards and rounded up by Argentina’s famed gauchos, roamed the Pampas until the later 19th century, when the land was fenced into huge estan- cias (ranches). The region is prominent in Argentina’s gaucho literature and musical folklore.
pamphlet Unbound printed publication with a paper cover or no cover. Among the first printed materials, pamphlets were widely used in England, France, and Germany from the early 16th century, often for reli¬ gious or political propaganda; they sometimes rose to the level of litera¬ ture or philosophical discourse. In North America, pre-Revolutionary War agitation stimulated extensive pamphleteering; foremost among the writ¬ ers of political pamphlets was Thomas Paine. By the 20th century, the pamphlet was more often used for information than for controversy.